Sir Henry Wellcome (1853-1936) was born in Almond (Wisconsin, USA), although he spent most of his life in London. In 1870 he began working in a pharmacy in Rochester (Minnesota, United States) and in 1874 he completed his studies at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. There he met Silas Burroughs, who became his partner. Together they founded Burroughs Wellcome & Company, a company that grew rapidly thanks to the innovations they introduced, such as the tabloid tablet. After Burroughs' death in 1895, Wellcome took over the company.
His work allowed him to develop one of his passions: collecting. Wellcome made numerous trips around the world with the aim of acquiring new items and building up a large collection on the history of medicine. In 1936 he created a foundation to protect his collection, the Wellcome Trust, where it is kept today.